CROWN DEPOSED
There is a crown of beech trees at the top of the hill leading up to the Barclay Road entrance of Warley Woods. There used to be five tall friends. Now there are four. Storm Doris took care of one of the group, unceremoniously slicing off the top-heavy canopy of the proud tree. Now, we see its stark form, as a reminder of the power of storm winds and the fragility even of formerly strong boughs.
Today will go down in human history for two reasons which will only be judged wisely and generously by the march of time.
Article 50 has been triggered and the UK and Europe have two years to separate as legal and political entities. This stark fact is beginning to sink in for us all, just as the stark skeleton of the formerly proud tree reminds us of a time when it was a flourishing beech. Will our departure trigger a further diminishing of the European project? Will more of our lovely beeches succumb to more winds?
President Trump has signaled the beginning of the un-stitching of the coalition of nations who signed the Paris Agreement to slow down the catastrophic warming of the planet. His most recent presidential order will lead to unfettered fossil fuel use in the United States. Will other countries now turn their backs on the agreement, emboldened by Trump's untrammeled politics of self-interest? Will any of our lovely beeches survive into the 22nd Century? Will life itself?
History teaches us that empires rise and empires fall - and yet the Kingdom of Jesus continues to blossom and bloom in a million ways, a billion ways, each day. Our vocation as humans is to bear God's image and not delegate to idolatrous powers the huge responsibilities we bear. As we prepare to carve out a new way of living - politically and legally - as a nation, may we not duck our responsibilities to care for the planet nor duck our responsibilities to create networks which give life to all creatures and the natural world across this delicate beautiful blue planet.Can selfless love counter self-interest? If self-interest is the only vote-winner, can it yet be enlightened by love?
We moved from a lush, green, fertile country to a neighbouring country that was a semi desert, when I was ten years old. The trees, to my young eyes, looked ugly and hostile, with long, unforgiving, sharp thorns. They were acacia trees. I could not have imagined that this was a tree mentioned in the Bible. It was acacia wood that was used to build the tabernacle in the book of Exodus. Over the years, I began to see beauty in the stark skeletons of the trees that miraculously became green overnight after a mere sprinkling of rain.
ReplyDeleteIt was also the first time in my life I had set my eyes on an intermittent river. The river flowed only if there were heavy rains; and then, only for a couple of days. It echoed what I had come to believe of the country; it promised much, but delivered little. To my amazement, I discovered that a mere few centimetres below the dry surface, were hidden stores of water. Out of that starkness and void, came an outpouring of God's abundance. Those were formative years of my life, and though I could not see it at the time, much good came from them.
My prayer, as we live through harsh, difficult times, is that God will grant showers that will bring to life what appears to be dead. May we find hidden stores of water when we dig into river beds that are apparently dry.
Ezekial 24:36
I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.
The life of God is inextinguishable through these great uncertainties.
Delete"So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth’s proud empires, pass away:
Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway."